The dispute between Marvel Studios and X-Men ’97 creator Beau DeMayo—who was abruptly removed from the show in March, just prior to its Disney+ premiere—has a new update. Today, DeMayo spoke out against his former bosses, denying the allegations that led to his firing and leveling his own criticisms. It’s not an unusual next step in a back-and-forth between parties in dispute with each other, but what is unusual is the fact that DeMayo aired his grievances via OnlyFans.
Although OnlyFans markets itself as a broad subscription platform for a variety of internet content creators, it has developed a reputation as a site for sharing explicit and softcore sexual content. DeMayo previously used the platform during his time working at Marvel to share non-explicit images of himself; although the page was brought down at some point after his exit, DeMayo has revived the page to address his legal disagreement with Marvel.
According to Deadline, DeMayo streamed a 30-minute response on OnlyFans earlier today in which he claimed, “The rumors being spread around me online are lies, and they are offensive, but more concerning is that they’re a smear campaign designed to discredit my credibility in order to cover up the egregious prejudicial misconduct stretching from select crew members on X-Men ’97, all the way all the way to the top at Marvel Studios.”
DeMayo further asserted that “being gay, Black, and open about it at Marvel Studios” was a notable factor in his sudden departure. As Deadline reported, DeMayo said today that “the offenses Marvel and others have leaked are designed to distract you from what really offended them … Everything they have done since then has been designed not just to silence me and smear me, but to crush me and to remind me to know my role.”
Deadline also notes that DeMayo’s attorney is seeking to have “an allegedly ‘illegal non-disparagement provision’ removed from the writer’s exit package documents,” claiming that Marvel has removed DeMayo’s name from the credits for the upcoming second season of X-Men ’97 after he spoke out following his firing. It quotes the filing as follows: “DeMayo, who intends to detail his prior employment with Marvel via OnlyFans, bore witness to and endured rampant discriminatory and harassing conduct during his years-long tenure with the Company. Well aware that DeMayo possessed copious knowledge regarding Marvel’s illicit and unsafe employment practices, the Company sought to silence DeMayo as part of his forced ouster.”
(Deadline’s post notes that Disney had yet to respond to the trade’s request for a comment; io9 has also reached out to Disney, and will update should we get a comment in response.)
The fact that OnlyFans is the place DeMayo plans to give further updates may be the strangest wrinkle here. As noted earlier, DeMayo’s account has previously been non-explicit; he’s now using it as a way to monetize his announcements, sort of like a blog that’s behind a paywall. What do you make of this choice, given the circumstances and context?
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